
JOHN R. KING 



MY EXPERIENCE 
In The Confederate Army 

and in 

Northern Prisons 



WRITTEN FROM MEMORY 

BY 

JOHN R. KING 



STONEWELL JACKSON CHAPTER 
No. 1333 
UNITED DAUGHTERS OF CONFEDERACY 
CLARKSBURG, W. VA. 



Copyrighted 1917 






K 



vC) 01.^-^704135 



JUL 25 1917 



PREFACE. 



I want to explain why I am writing this little 
sketch. In the first place I have never seen anything 
written about life in Northern Prisons and have al 
ways had a great desire that the world be better in- 
formed regarding the treatment of prisoners during 
the war. No doubt many of my comrades in prison 
could have written about our prison life much better 
than I, but it seems none of them have ever made the 
attempt. My own children and grandchildren have 
often expressed a desire that I write my experience, 
and last but not least, I can say the real cause of my 
undertaking such a thing is that my cousin, Mrs. 
George C. Stone, of Clarksburg, President of the 
Stonewall Jackson Chapter, United Daughters of 
the Confederacy, has desired me to write something 
of this nature for their chapter; this I have done to 
the best of my ability and will cheerfully give it into 
the hands of their Historian, hoping that it may have 
something in it worthy of publication. 

Being a carpenter by trade I can use a saw 
and square much better than I can a pen, but in writ- 
ing this there is one particular thing which has help- 
ed me more than anything else, and that is, I have 
an excellent memory. This is a blessing to me. I could 
have written a great deal more from memory, but 
have written only some of the most important hap- 
penings. Many things happened every day in the 
army and in the prisons of which I might have spok- 
en and which would be new to the younger people. 
I could have told how we built breastworks, how 
we fortified and picketed along the Rapidan, how 
pickets were captured on post and how, while we 
were building breastworks at Germania Fort, there 
was a religious revival goinc: on behind us in the pine 
woods, I could have told about our camping on the 



Chancellorsville Battlefield, walking over the 
ground where our beloved Stonewall Jackson fell 
and how we saw human skulls and human bones 
bleaching on top of the ground. I might have told of 
many painful sights on battlefields in the midst of 
shot and shell and mangled human beings, of death 
bed scenes in prison, meetings and partings on bat- 
tlefields, of messages to loved ones at home and many 
other minor happenings, but it was too much of an 
undertaking for my awkard pen and so I ended with 
my return home. If all who were in the war and in 
the various prisoners were to write their experiences, 
there would be much work for the publishers. 

There have been all sorts or reports abroad ever 
since the Civil War in regard to the feeding and 
general treatment of Southern prisoners in Northern 
Prisons and I will say here, as I said before, I was one 
of these prisoners for more than a year and what I 
have stated in this little sketch is all from actual ex- 
perience and from my own observation; it is abso- 
lutely true. 

I could have made our sufferings and many other 
things which I mentioned a great deal blacker and 
more bitter, but my aim has been to give everyone 
all the credit they deserve, for I feel a number of our 
officers in charge of the prisons had the welfare of 
the prisoners at heart; however, they were in a posi- 
tion where they could not prevent our suffering. I 
have often looked back over the period just after the 
close of the war when the poor confederate soldiers 
were sent home to face the world without money, of- 
ten without credit and with but few clothes. They 
were not allowed to vote, had to pay taxes, could ex- 
pect no pension, often cri})pled. It was a gloomy out- 
look, but I have lived to see the confederate veterans 
honored everywhere, thousands of them have fine 
homes of their own, they are surrounded with the 
comforts of life, our dear old southland has come to 
the front and has prospered beyond what the fondest 
heart ever expected to see. I have had a great desire 
ever since the close of the Civil War that people in 



general and my own children in particular might be 
better informed regarding the South and the South- 
ern side of the Civil War. In this little sketch I have en- 
deavored to uphold our Southern side and to create 
a respect for the South and for Southern people as I 
do at all times. None have ever done more in uplift- 
ing the South and creating a universal respect for her 
people than the noble Southern women. In all ages 
women have been heroic in war and in suffering 
and I can say in truth that our own dear Southern 
women bore their share of privations and suffering 
with a heroism born in the South and it does my 
heart good to speak of our dear children, the Daugh- 
ters of the Confederacy, who have pledged the best 
of their lives and have banded together for the good 
work of uplifting and aiding the South, caring for 
our old veterans, their widows and orphans. Surely 
God will reward them for their unselfish work and I 
will pray that God may protect everyone of them 
and bless them in all their efforts. 

Finally, to my honored cousin Mrs. George C. 
Stone, I respectfully present this little sketch and 
sincerely hope that she may find something in this 
that may be suitable for publication. 

John R. King, 
Roanoke, W. Va., 
February, 1916. 



MY EXPERIENCE IN THE CONFEDERATE 
ARMY AND IN NORTHERN PRISONS 



WRITTEN FROM MEMORY 



I was not lucky in having an education, but will 
try to the best of my ability to write of some exper- 
iences in the Civil War. 

To begin with I was born in Marion Co., Virgin- 
ia, on the 8th day of April, 1842. Brother Cyinis was 
born in the same County on the 5th day of December, 
1838. My father moved from Marion to Upsher Co., 
Va., in April, 1861. We were Democrats, but my fath- 
er was a Union man until Virginia seceded. Being a 
loyal son of the Old Dominion State he then became 
one of the South, and there-by suffered for his loyal- 
ty to the good old Mother State. The majority of the 
people of Upsher County were loyal to the North. 
Sometimes we were looked on with suspicion and of- 
ten insulted. Once my brother Cyrus was mobbed at 
the church door; also stoned and in July, 1862, my 
father, brother Cyrus and myself were hoeing cane 
at home when we saw one of our neighbors and a 
few Yankee Soldiers coming towards us. They sur- 
rounded us, took us with some others to Buckhannon 
before Gen. Rosecrans, and compelled us to take the 
oath of allegiance to the United States ; one can eas- 
ily see that we were never safe at home. 

Early in May, 1863, Cyrus and I started for Dix- 
ie. It was hard for us to leave kind parents, good bro- 
thers and sisters. We went by way of Beverly, W. 
Va., and others joined us making in all ten bound 
for Dixie. One big fellow was a Confederate Soldier 
and carried a Belgian rifle. A short distance from 
Beverly we met a Yankee cavalryman. One of our 



10 

boys whom we had sent a little distance in advance 
said a few words to the man, then came back to in- 
form us that we were in danger. We hastened to the 
mountains and a few minutes later we saw about 175 
horse-men come thundering down out of Beverly. 
We hurried up the hill and the Yankees were not far 
behind us. Fortunately the top of the hill had been 
fortified, they had cut down the bushes and thrown 
all the brush across a deep sharp ravine making a 
fine, heavy covering for it. Upon seeing this secluded 
spot we all crept in and were completely hidden from 
view. Many of the soldiers came very close to where 
we lay, but we were quiet in our narrow quarters. 
They soon disappeared and then we went a few miles 
into the woods, came down the pike and stayed all 
night at Mr. Crawford's. The next day we went to 
Mr. White's who lived on the top of Cheat Mountain ; 
then we went to Yeager's on the top of the Allegheny 
mountains, the next day to Monterey, Highland Co., 
Va., and stayed there about a week. We heard our 
regiment was coming back from the Imboden Raid 
and would be at White Sulphur Springs on a certain 
day, so we left Monterey and spent the next day go- 
ing down Jackson River. On the morning of the sec- 
ond day we met the regiment at Warm Springs, Va. 
We volunteered in Co. B. 25" Va. Infantry. That reg- 
iment and the 31" Va. regiment had been taken from 
R. E. Lee's Army and sent with Imboden's army to 
W. Va. 

Our captain was W. H. Fitchett; Colonel John 
C. Higginbotham who was the first captain of our 
company; Brigade Commander, J. M. Jones; Divis- 
ion Commander, Edward Johnson; Corps Com- 
mander, General Ewell, the same division and Corps 
that Stonewall Jackson formerly commanded. We 
were all under our beloved R. E. Lee, called the Ar- 
my of Northern Virginia. Our company was called 
the Upsher Grays. After taking a fine bath in the 
warm springs we moved on by way of Bath Alum 
Springs to Buffalo Gap, W. Va. We stopped there a 
few days and held an election in the army. We elect- 



11 

ed Extra Billy Smith for Governor of Virginia to suc- 
ceed Gov. Letcher. Extra Billy was a Brigadier Gen- 
eral and commanded the Brigade that our 25" reg- 
iment was in during part of the war. We also elected 
our Lieut. Colonel Robinson to represent some of our 
W. Va. Counties in the Virginia legislature. When 
this was completed we went to Staunton, Va., and 
took the train for Hanover Junction and then went to 
Fredericksburg ; there we found R. E. Lee's main ar- 
my. They had just fought the battle of Chancellors- 
ville and we all know what happened there. A day 
or two before we moved from this place Extra Bill 
Smith left us and before leaving he made a little 
speech. He said : ''Boys, I am sorry to part with you. 
You are good soldiers. I like to have good brave fel- 
lows around me like you. It makes me feel so darn'd 
strong." That is all he said. We all cheered him for 
he was a good fighter. Then the army started on a 
long march across the Blue Ridge, the beginning of 
that memorable campaign into Pennsylvania and to 
Gettysburg. After several days marching we arrived 
at Winchester, Va., and found General Milroy hold- 
ing the town. Our corps was the only one that cross- 
ed the mountains in that direction. Longstreet's and 
Hill s corps went to the Potomac river in another dir- 
ection, so we had to attack Milroy with Ewell's corps. 
This was in June. On the evening of the first day we 
began fighting and we continued that night, the next 
day and the next night, then very early in the morn- 
ing of the third day the big flag on Milroy' s Fort was 
taken down. We took many prisoners and a quanity 
of army stores. This was my first taste of battle and 
I wish you could have seen me dodge the first shell. 
If a hole had been near I would have disappeared. 
I would like to impress on your minds that I had a 
fine brave heart,and a pair of legs that had a wonder- 
ful inclination towards carrying my body out of dan- 
ger, but I succeeded in coaxing them to stay with the 
crowd. 

Here I will tell you of some things that happen- 
ed during the battle. On the second day our regiment 



12 

was deployed on a long line on a low ridge some dis- 
tance east of Winchester, near the Front Royal Road. 
We were Sharpshooters. Our company was in front 
of a large farmhouse and near the noon hour a mid- 
dle aged woman came out on the firing line and with 
her there came a beautiful young southern girl 17 or 
18 years of age. About a mile to our left a long skir- 
mish line moved slowly down the slopes of the same 
hill on which we were stationed. We looked across 
a beautiful little valley and saw a fine body of Yan- 
kee Cavalry coming to meet the thin line of skirmish- 
ers. The beautiful young girl looked too and began 
to lament, saying: ''Oh, dear, dear, all our poor men 
will be killed." Then some one told her to look out 
on the crest of the hill. She looked and saw Stuart's 
North Carolina Brigade coming out of the woods, a 
gray line a mile long; on they came closer and clos- 
er, then the little line of skirmishers fired a volley 
and fell back to the main line, on came the Cavaliy, 
on came the low, gray line ; suddenly we saw the in- 
fantry halt and we heard one mighty volley from their 
guns. The Cavalry reeled and fled with several emp- 
ty saddles ; then our southern girl became wild with 
joy, she said: ''Do let me hollo." Some one said, 
"Well, hollo all you want to." She certainly did hollo 
and clap her hands. The other lady was her aunt. 
She said to the girl : "Why Annie, ain't you asham- 
ed?" The next morning we went quickly into Win- 
chester. We saw a large old lady on a porch bouncing 
from one end to the other, clapping her hands and 
shouting: "Thank the Lord, Milroy is gone." We 
stayed around Winchester for a few days caring for 
the wounded, burying the dead, gathering guns and 
other stuff off the battlefield. 

We moved on down the valley to Shepherds- 
town and here we met a Company belonging to some 
of our regiments that had secured a leave of absence 
and were staying at their own homes in the town. We 
saw a dear mother, sister or wife, come out and meet 
them and it was good to see the joy of their meet- 
ing; but then, perhaps, at the very next house, some 



13 

one would go to a dear old mother and speak gently, 
she would clasp her hands and lift her eyes to heav- 
en, touched with grief, for she knew the ground had 
closed over her sunny haired southern boy forever. 
After pasing through that town we waded the Poto- 
mac and camped for a day or so on the Antietam 
Battlefield, then went on through Hagerstown and 
Greencastle where we saw a pretty young girl stand- 
ing on a portico holding a small United States flag 
in her hand. She taunted us with it and some were 
not courtous to her. We went ahead to Chambers- 
burg and our regiment patrolled the town for a day 
and a night. It was necessary to guard the place to 
keep order. I remember I did a fine job guarding a 
bed of onions just long enough to pull all I wanted 
for my own use, and I gave some to others who were 
not so skillful in climbing palings as I was. We went 
from that town to Shippensburg, and on to Carlisle, 
Pa., then turned to the right and went to Gettysburg. 
General Lee gave us orders not to destroy or molest 
private property. Any farmer could have a guard for 
his house if he asked for one. I know this to be true 
for I did that kind of guarding myself. We reached 
Gettysburg on the evening of the 1st of July. There 
had been hard fighting before we arrived. We saw 
some gruesome sights in the railroad cut near where 
Gen. Reynolds was killed. Men's heads were torn 
from the bodies, legs and arms torn asunder and 
horses lying around mutilated. It took courage to 
face these things. We passed through Gettysburg 
that same evening and lay in line of battle under the 
guns on Cemetery Ridge ; the next day our division 
stormed Gulp's Hill, and that evening late moved in- 
to the Valley of Death, then on the third day while 
Pickett was making his terrible charge and the bat- 
tle was raging everywhere, we were holding our po- 
sition among the rocks under tTie muraerous Tire 
from Little Round Top. My brother Cyrus was badly 
wounded in his right arm, so I removed him from the 
battlefield under the fire of the cannons, musketry 
and bursting of shells. It is due to the hand of a Di- 



14 

vine Providence that we were not both killed for the 
cannon balls bored into the ground so close we 
thought sometimes we would be covered. I left my 
brother on the top of the hill and went back to the 
line of battle. Again it fell on me to take another one 
of our company off the battlefield, but fortunately 
I was never hurt. About midnight on the 3rd of July, 
Gen. Lee began to fall back. We lay all day, the 4th, 
just a little west of the battlefield when we finally 
fell back to Virginia. All the wounded had to be left 
in Pennsylvania and brother Cyrus was one of them ; 
he was taken to Bedloe's Island and David's Island 
here he stayed until the spring of 1864, when he was 
exchanged and put on the retired list; until the close 
of the war he was on farms in Pennsylvania Co., and 
Rockingham Co. Va., arriving home in June, 1865, a 
few days before my return. 

Some of the Northern people had peculiar ideas 
concerning us; while we were patrolling Cham- 
bersburg, we conversed with people at different 
places. Some would say : ''Why, we didn't think there 
were so many people in the South." And only a small 
part of Lee's army went to Chambersburg. At anoth- 
er house while conversing one of them looked close- 
ly at us and said : ''Why, I didn't know the Southern 
people looked like our people. You fellows look just 
like us." Then Bill Lawhorne, a rough fellow and one 
of our own company said : "What did you think we 
looked like? Did you imagine we all had horns and 
tails like wild beasts?" It seemed strange that any- 
one could know so little about the South. 

Now, I will speak of our march back from Get- 
tysburg to Virginia. On the morning of the fifth of 
July we were called in line and were standing by the 
roadside when Gen. Lee and most of the higher of- 
ficers of the army of Northern Va. rode up and stood 
in a group near us. Gen. Lee said to Gen. Ewell :"You 
will march in the rear and if the enemy comes up, 
give him battle and I will go ahead and open the 
way." We marched in the rear all the way back to 
Virginia; the enemy in small bodies would attack 



15 

our rear every day, but they did us little harm. A 
laughable thing happened one evening. A big negro 
rode up on one of the officer's horses to a pump by 
the roadside where a great many of the soldiers pro- 
cured water. He was feeling his importance and 
making himself conspicious when a shot from one of 
the enemy's cannons very gracefully knocked the 
pumpstick off. It was a beautiful sight to see that 
Mr. Nigger taking his leave ; about all we could see 
was a black streak vanishing in the distance. We 
went ahead for several days with about the same 
discouragements and finally stopped at Hagerstown, 
and skirmished with the enemy for several days. 

Finally, one evening several of our regiment 
were detailed to go to Williamsport and bake a quan- 
tity of bread, so Bill Lawhorne and myself from Co. 
"B" went. We found a shed in a lumber yard in the 
edge of the town where some barrels of flour had 
been left. We didn't have any vessels for cookmg, 
but we knew a few things about shifting for oursel- 
ves, so we went to work with a determination. Bill 
Lawthorne spread an oil cloth which we used in rainy 
weather on the ground, piled flour out of the bar- 
rel on it, put salt and soda in it and mixed it while I 
prepared the fire. I gathered pieces of barrel heads 
and scraps of boards, these I placed on the ground. 
Bill spread the dough out on them and set the boards 
in front of the fire. When one side was cooked I 
would then turn my cake over and bake the other side 
We soon had a fine lot of bread. It certainly tasted 
good to us for we weren't troubled with gout on ac- 
count of luxurious living. While I was baking Gen. 
A. P. Hill's Corps passed along the road by the fire, 
so we had to watch the bread continually. We could- 
n't afford to give them any, our own hungry fellows 
needing it too badly. One fellow finally slipped one 
of my best cakes. I tried to forgive him for I knew 
that he was hungry. That night was very dark and 
rainy. Toward morning some one told us our regi- 
ment was passing through the town. We packed the 
bread so we could carry it conveniently and waded in 



16 

the mud and through the darkness until we found 
our regiment. On reaching the upper end of the town 
we could see a long line of men wading in the Poto- 
mac River. It was just break of day and it was terri- 
ble to see the men in the big river with only their 
heads above water, but we joined them and contin- 
ued our march. Orders had been given that the am- 
munition be kept dry. I placed the cartridge box up- 
on my shoulder and held my load of bread as high a- 
bove the water as possible. The boys cried out: ''For 
God's sake King, take care of the breaci." It was not 
surprising that they wo'e uneasy about the bread as 
the water came to the level of my shoulders. How ev- 
er, we crossed safely, many of the boys prayed and 
some of them used Sunday School words in the 
wrong place. On leaving home my father gave me a 
pocket Bible which I carried on my side breast pock- 
et. After reading it I enclosed it in a tight oilcloth 
case, and though the water submerged my pocket, 
the outside leaves only were damaged. I number it 
among my treasures today. Ewell's Corps was the on- 
ly one that waded the Potomac river. Longstreet's and 
Hill's Corps with the artilery and wagons crossed on 
Pontoons below us at Falling Water. The Potomac 
was rising rapidly when we waded but the water 
was warm. We rejoiced to be again on Virginia's 
soil. 

We stayed in Martinsburg two weeks during 
which time we destroyed much of the Baltimore and 
Ohio railroad. After the close of the war I came 
home over that road, and at Martinsburg I recogniz- 
ed the same rails replaced; they were still I'ed and 
rusty from being in the fire which we made by piling 
crossties, laying the rails on top of them and setting 
the ties on fire ; when the rails were red hot the ends 
would fall to the ground. I almost felt ashamed of 
myself when I saw them straightened out and I was 
riding home over them, but such is war. 

Gen. Bradly T. Johnson was in command of 
our Brigade for several months after the battle of 
Gettysburg, Gen. J. M. Jones being disabled. From 



17 

Martinsburg we went by Bunker Hill to Winchester 
and then from there to Front Royal where we had a 
little brush with the Yankees. We then went on up 
the river to near Luray, crossed the Blue Ridge into 
Madison County, Va., thence to Montpelier Place, 
President Madison's old home near Orange Court 
House, where we remained in camp three months. 
Our camping ground was well located near the or- 
chard which constantly caused us to hunger for ap- 
ples, when they were sufficiently ripe and roasting 
ears and beans v/ere ready to tempt us, the officers 
sent men to patrol the country, and if one of us was 
caught prowling around without a pass from Brad- 
ley T. Johnson, we were arrested, taken before the 
officers and punished by having to ride a wooden 
horse several hours each day or some other punish- 
m.ent as disagreeable. I had been running around 
much before the patrol was started, so one day Henry 
Hoover, one of my company, said he would write me 
a pass if I would get some apples. He imitated Gen. 
Johnson's handwriting:, and with my bogus pass I 
started toward Gordensville. Seeing a big orchard 
in front of me, I hastened to it and just as I was 
walking through a big arched gateway the patrol 
seized me. Knov/ing each man for they were of our 
own regiment I was afraid to show my pass, so I sat 
down on a log and wondered what I could do. Finally 
taking it from my pocket I handed it to Lieut. Yancy 
and said, ^'Here is some kind of a paper I received 
this morning. I cannot read very well and I thought 
I would show it to you. After reading the pass he 
smiled and said, ''Why, you dam'd fool, this is a pass 
from Gen. Johnson. You get back to camp and don't 
let me catch you out here again." I returned in a 
round about way, got a few apples and roasting ears 
and did not go in that direction any more, but across 
the pike from our camp was a big cornfield with a 
large quantity of tempting roasting ears and beans, 
guards were placed in the field and orders read to 
the regiment while on dress parade. I being on guard 
dutv did not hear the orders read, but had been told 



18 

jf them; nevertheless, I went one day armed wit>- 
naver sack and a good ajDpetite with the intention of 
getting a fine mess of corn and beans and perhaps, 
some apples. I was getting along nicely when a guard 
approached from the 50'' Va. regiment. Danger sur- 
rounded me, but the guard was a good fellow and 
lucky for me, his own captain was oflficer of the day 
in our Brigade that day. I was taken before the cap- 
tain and he asked me to what regiment I belonged 
I told him to the 25". He said, ''Didn't you hear the 
orders read to keep out of the cornfield?" I said, "I 
didn't. His reply was. ''Your Colonel is too good an 
officer not to have had such orders read to the regi- 
ment." "I must have been on guard somewhere at the 
time," I said, which was true. Then the Captain said, 
"What did you go into the cornfield for anyhow?" I 
said, "Because I wanted some roasting ears to eat." 
He said, "Did you get any?" I said, "yes, a few." 
I showed them to him, he laughed and said, "Oh, 
you're too honest, go back to your regiment and keep 
your com." That was my last thieving trip. We stay- 
ed in our camp until October and got well rested, but 
didn't fatten very much. I suppose indigestion kept 
us thin. 

The family burial ground of President Madison 
was near our camp. I often walked through the en- 
closure. The monument erected to his memoiy is a 
plain base of granite, something like S feet square 
with a 4 foot square tapered shaft 20 feet high, with 
James Madison, his birth and death only engraved 
upon it. A beautiful white slab marks the burial place 
of his wife. 

In October we broke camp and marched to 
Bristow Station near Manasses on the Orange and 
Alexanderia R. R. For several days part of our army 
watched the Yankees while others destroyed much 
of the Orange and Alex?inderia R. R. When the bars 
were red hot they were bent around telegraph poles. 
Later we cam})ed for a week or two at Brandy Sta- 
tion near the same railroad. Some of our cavalry had 
a little skirmish with the enemy before we arrived in 



19 

which a few men had been killed. We had been get- 
ting our drinking water at a little run and were order- 
ed to stop using that water for they found a dead 
Yankee lying in the run in the woods a short distance 
above where we procured drinking water. This 
caused much discomfort. While in camp Wat Kirk, 
Bill Jarvis, and myself were ordered to guard the 
Gen. Jones headquarters. Jarvis was a sergeant. We 
went on post at evening, knowing we ought to guard 
the rail fence near, we didn't burn any rails. It was a 
cool drizzly night, the guard before us had made fire, 
so we kept a small fire by adding pieces of rails and 
stumps. Captain Cleary was on the General Staff, he 
was a tall egotistic fellow and none of us liked him. 
In the morning he had the three of us put under ar- 
rest and sent to the guard house, where we were 
prisoners for a few days. We were then tried before 
the Military Court. The judge advocate was our own 
Captain Fitchett, a fine fellow. Captain Cleary en- 
tered the courtroom with a pompous air and read his 
charge accusing us of burning rails while on guard. 
Then Capt. Fitchett said to us, "You are privileged 
to ask questions ! The others were silent. Spunking up 
to Capt. Cleary I asked, "Have you seen us burning 
rails or disobeying other orders while on post.?" 
He said, he had not, but he thought we had been. I 
looked at our judge and he smiled. We were honor- 
ably discharged and went back to our companies. 

After that we went in camp a short distance be- 
low Orange Court House. By this time the weather 
was beginning to grow cold, and we had nothing so 
far but small shelter tents, dog tents we called them. 
We crawled into the tents and spread down an old 
blanket or oilcloth on the frozen ground, but owing 
to the hard bed and cold we slept but little. There 
were three in our tent, one of us, Joe Paugh by name 
was a big boyish fellow who slept in the middle. I 
think he had the longest, hardest back and legs of any 
man with whom I ever slept. In the morning we left 
our prints in the mud where we had thawed the froz- 
en ground. The latter part of November we went to 



20 

Mine Run, and quarreled with some Yankees who 
had crossed the Rappanhannock River, chai'ging 
the enem}^ in the woods near Payne's farm. We soon 
found their line concealed in some thick red brush, 
they sprang up within 20 feet of us and fired. My, but 
the bullets passed affectionately over our heads. A 
big fellow by the name of Hoy Reger, in front of me 
saw a gun leveled at him, he cried sharply, "Look out, 
King," at the same time ducking his head under his 
cap, the crown of which was stuffed with cotton and 
stuck out like a rabbit's tail. I dodged quickly behind 
a tree and had Reger not yelled sharply at me I 
would have been killed. The next day we made 
breast works on the hills along Mine Run and the Re- 
bels and Yankee cannonaded one another after the 
work was completed. That night was very cold and 
our company stood picket down below the works 
among the pines. We kept a fire by lOurning pine 
knots, and the next morning w^e were so black from 
the smoke that we hardly recognized one another. 
After much cannonading, the Yankees recrossed the 
rivei", and a number were killed during the fighting. 
Then we returned to Orange Court House, and went 
into camp near the one we left. 

Before going further I will tell you about one of 
the greatest charges I ever experienced, which took 
place when we were returning from our trouble with 
the enemy at Bi'istow Station. After marching all 
day with nothing to eat except a few roasting ears 
which we nabbed while going along, we went into 
camp in the evening in a bad humor, we were hungry 
and cold and had to lieep our fires by i)iling on limbs 
and brush. I was unlucky in having the back of my 
jacket burnt up to my collar. The next morning we 
were very hungry and there was a seven acre coi-n- 
field near our camn. which was guarded at nicrht, 
when in line ready to march we were ordered to 
stack cirms, then we were commanded, "Right face, 
Forward. March, Break" and we soon knew what 
was up. No General ever saw a finer charge for every 
one of us made for that cornfield. Myself and another 



21 

longlegged fellow sailed through the field to the far 
side and came back pulling ears. We got a fine lot of 
corn. The charge was soon over, the cornfield com- 
pletely subdued and no one was hurt. My exertion 
was useless for the officers made all divide equally. 
Then we went back to the fire to cook it. We had no 
cooKing utensils near, so we set the ears on end in the 
fire and built a little pen of sticks around them. When 
we marched away we could have been tracked for 
miles by the cobs. Our Brigade of six regiments only 
was in charge in the cornfield. 

The first of December we began to prepare for 
winter quarters and Gen. Lee located his camp near 
a large brick church a short distance below Orange 
Court House. The church was called Pisgah church, 
therefore, our winter camp was called Camp Pisgah 
We suffered intensely with the cold it being near 
Christmas before our shanties were completed. We 
were along the Rapidan River eight miles away do- 
ing guard duty, drilling, cleaning our guns, attending 
dress parade and many other things necessary to a 
winter camp ; frequently lady relatives made us glad 
by the presence of their gentle faces. The winter pas- 
sed slowly and we were glad when the spring of 
1864 came with its usual smiles. Our army moved in 
the direction of Mine Run early in May and rested 
near where the first battle of the wilderness began. 
This brings to my memory a neighbor in Upshur 
county who went with us to Dixie, and a kinder more 
faithful comrade no one ever had. On the evening of 
the 4th our rations did not arrive until late in the 
night and it was necessary to cook them before re- 
tiring. Three of us messed together, myself, Jerry 
Paugh, and Sam Lynch; Sam told Jerry and me to 
lie down and sleep until midnight. When we woke he 
had finished the cooking for all. We reproved him for 
not calling us and he said we were sleeping too 
soundly to be disturbed. It was a pleasure to come in 
contact with a man so kind and affectionate. 

The next day was the memorable 5th of May, 
1864, the beginning of the bloody battles in the Wil- 



22 

derness. We were called in line early in the day and 
met Grant's araiy on the old stone road leading from 
Orange Court House to Fredericksburg, there wc 
had a severe battle. Our regiment was always deploy- 
ed in front of our lines of battle as skirmishers and 
sharpshooters. A skirmish line is made by a regiment 
deploying, that is a regiment forms a thin line with 
each man 5 spaces apart. Our business was to watch 
the enemy and keep their skirmish line back as long 
as possible consequently we faced the enemy. If we 
succeeded in holding them back we were to fall be- 
hind the line of the battle and forai our regiment, 
then take our place in line with the others. Soon af- 
ter we deployed the skirmishers advanced on us. We 
met them with vim and they fell back, on they came 
the second time with a double skirmish line. We sent 
them back again. Just then General Battles Alabani- 
ous threw forward a skirmish line to assist us. In a 
few minutes the foe appeared with a double line of 
skirmishers and a line of battle. We poured into 
them with our two skirmishers and they fell back 
again leaving a few dead. Phill Crites, a big robust 
fellow in our company, seeing two dead Yankees in 
front of us, concluded he would examine their knap- 
sacks. It was a mean trick and the officers warned 
him, but he did not listen and as he was stooping over 
the dead man he was shot and fell badly wounded. 
At once four of our Company went to him, Sam 
Lynch, my dear classmate, also went, not belonging 
to the ambulence corps it was unnecessaiy for him 
to go. I said, "Sam, don't go, but he set his gun 
against a tree and went and as the four were ready to 
remove Crites, bullets came from sharpshooters on 
the other side, and Lynch fell desperatelv wounded. 
I loved my comrade so well that I was strongly 
tempted to try and carry him off, but I knew it meant 
death. One of our ambulance corps saw the poor boy 
die where he lay a few hours afterwards, and his 
death hurt me worse than any other in the war. Soon 
aftei- Lynch fell, the other enemy came upon us with 
a double skirmish line and a double line of battle 



23 

and our men scattered. We were ordered to fall back 
in the rear of our line of battle and from our regiment 
as we usually did, but while we were still stretched 
out in our long thin line and the enemy was right on 
us, our Brigade rallied ; another line of battle came 
up to assist us, and the Yankees were badly defeated. 
Our Colonel was so badly hurt over the way the rest 
of the Brigade left us on the skirmish line that he re- 
fused to stay with the Brigade, so Gen. Ewell told 
him to take what was left of the regiment and go to 
Hay's Louisana Brigade. The Company of Zouaves, 
called the Louisana Tigers, were in one of the red- 
ments in that Brigade and we were with them a few 
days during which some hard fighting took place. 
One day two of our Regiments were taken near Ger- 
mania Ford, along the Rapidan River, by Gen. Long, 
an artillery General, to do some scouting in the woods 
and find out, whether or not, the enemy might be in 
the thicket near our rear. We shelled the woods to 
some extent and fired a few shots at single horsemen 
to see them run ; then we deployed and tried to pen- 
etrate the dense thickets, but we were not successful 
and returned to the line of battle in the evening. The 
Wilderness is the place where so many soldiers met 
the "Unseen Death," as it is called in history. It was 
rightly named for there was such a wilderness of un- 
dergrowth and vines in which the soldiers could 
hide, that a bullet would often strike a poor fellow 
and no one could tell from whence it came. 

Lee held his position all along the line so that 
our Army kept moving on the right parallel to 
Grant's Army as far as Spottsylvania Court House, 
where we took a position and made breastworks. The 
part of the breastworks called in history, "The 
Bloody Angle," was in the shape of a horseshoe and 
our Brigade occupied the toe. On the evening of the 
10th of May a Brigade from Georgia gave way in the 
wing of the works and those on the left were ordered 
to assist them in taking their position which we ac- 
complished in a short time. Our Colonel was killed in 
the battle. When we returned to our place in the An- 



24 

gle, some one had left a flat cake while resting a- 
gainst the breastworks where I had stood. We never 
were overloaded with eatables, so by hard work I 
stuffed Mr. Flatcake into my knapsack. Some of 
them laughed at me thinking it might be dirty. I will 
tell you more of Mr. Cake later. Being in the right 
side of the toe of the horseshoe, we were in constant 
danger of being injured by the enemy's fire. On our 
left every few minutes a shot of some kind endanger- 
ed us, so we made a row of breastworks behind us 
and some crosswise which added to our safety. Pick- 
eting with the enemy continued until the 12" of May, 
a misty morning, w^hen just a little after the break 
of day the enemy attacked us with an ovei^whelming 
force. One line came in front which we annihilated 
another line came and broke over the breastworks 
at the center of the horseshoe while we were pouring 
it to the line in front. Standing on the big breast- 
works in the rear was a long line of Yankee soldiers 
with bayonets pointing at us, saying : "Boys, Surren- 
der!" They never fired again, but stood looking at 
us good naturedly. Of course we had to throw down 
our guns. Our men had run a battery of Artillery in 
front of the breastworks and before they could un- 
limber, the Yankees were upon them. The greater 
number made their escape through a gap in the 
breastworks, but one small Artillery man coming up 
the .crap without hat and coat, started through the 
head of the flanking column unarmed and said: ''I 
surrender, Don't kill me." Suddenly a big sturdy fel- 
low by the name of Woodsides belonging to Comp- 
any ''A", of our regiment brought his gun to his 
shoulder and shot the Yankee. The other Yankee 
never troubled him for this and that little Artillery 
m.in was le^o glad his life had been saved, he clung to 
Woodsides' arm like a child. While this was happen- 
ing a young giant by the ntime of John Keener, be- 
longing to Company '*A", also refused to surrender. 
I yelled at him to surrender or he would be killed, 
then some one fired and we saw him throw his amis 
across his breast and fall on his face. We all thought 



25 

he was killed but two weeks later when on a steamer 
going to Point Lookout,! saw a man lying on blankets 
on the deck. It was John Keener. I said : ''I thought 
you were killed at Spottsylvania."He said :''I thought 
so too at first." His girl's picture in his side pocket 
had miraculously saved him. It was in a case and the 
bullet that might have penetrated his heart, glanced 
on the picture and ploughed through the flesh on his 
breast. What noble creatures the young girls are. 
Isn't it marvelous how their pretty faces can save a 
man's life? God bless them. They are precious every- 
where. 

We were fortunate in not loosing a man in our 
regiment. That same day one of our men, John Gait- 
rel by name, a big strong fellow, saw the flanking 
column coming and made his escape to the rear. The 
rest of us threw down our guns and were hurried over 
the breastworks, there in front of our lines we saw 
dead men, two and three in a pile. Oh, what a pitiful 
sight. It became necessary to jump over many of 
them as we hurried along in advance of our captors. 
They paid a fearful price for us. A short distance 
from our breastworks I passed a fine manly looking 
soldier who belonged in the storming column. He 
was looking at the lock of his gun, when suddenly he 
staggered and fell at my feet to raise no more. Im- 
mediately after we were taken from our breastworks 
another Confederate line came up and drove out the 
Yankees. The fight continued all day, but our breast- 
works were not removed, as we were being taken 
through the Yankee lines we passed through at least 
two more lines of battle which had been kept 
in reserve in order to support the two lines that had 
attacked us. Those near were disorderly. It seemed as 
if every fellow thought he should assist in taking the 
prisoners, 3000 of us to the rear. Myself and others 
of our Company enraged because we were taken 
did rash things. With a big sharp knife in hand I cut 
and slashed around in a disorderly way, until a very 
young Yankee boy appeared who looked up into my 
face so kindly and lovingly and spoke so gentle to me 



26 

that my foolish anger vanished. He was as pretty as a 
girl and we became good friends.Dear boy,I wish I 
knew if he were living today. He said the Jonies were 
brave and courageous and that the Yankees had left 
a man on the battlefield for every prisoner they had 
taken. 

I was told that where the flanking column broke 
through our breastworks, men were piled as many as 
seven deep, all dead. It was part of our Brigade that 
occupied that place. We were conducted into an old 
field where we remained during the night. Here we 
found the greater number of our Regiment who had 
been made prisoners on the 5th of May in the wild- 
erness. They were very hungry having had little to 
eat for four or five days and here is where Mr. Flat 
Cake came in advantageously. I divided it among old 
comrades and it appeased their hunger to some ex- 
tent. We started for Fredericksburg in the morning 
and on the way we passed through a Brigade of im- 
pudent negroes officered by white men who were 
going to the front. They boasted that they expected 
to capture the rest of us. Our boys informed them 
they would find the rest of us waiting which they 
did to their sorrow, for those same negroes were 
shoved into the most dangerous places and the Rebels 
killed them by hundreds without mercy. We reach- 
ed Fredericksburg, crossed the Rappanhannock 
river on pantoons and went through King George 
Co., to Belle Plains, on the Potomac river; here we 
remained a few days, then by boat were taken to 
Point Lookout Prison in St. Mary's Co., Maryland. 
The 20th of May 1864, we marched through the big 
gate marked in large letters, ''Prisoners' Camp." 
Now our campaigns were ended and for more than a 
year we were to fight hunger, disease, exposure and 
cruelty, a gloomy prospect indeed, for thousands 
passed through that gate who never passed out alive 
again. I will try to give you some idea of the prisons, 
the government, food, clothing, guarding, etc. The 
prison at Point Lookout was located on a narrow 
piece of ground about one quarter of a mile wide at 



27 

the mouth of the Potomac River. Here the river is 
ten miles in width, the Chesapeak Bay on the other 
side of the prison more than thirty miles. Our part of 
this prison embraced 30 or 40 acres of ground sur- 
rounded by a ten foot wall which was a strong 
frame work spiked with two inch plank on 
the inside, framed in with the wall on the outside, 
three feet from the top was a parapet or walk for the 
use of the sentinels. At certain distances on the para- 
pet small shelter houses were erected for the guards. 
The inside was laid off in streets 20 feet wide run- 
ning in the direction of the River, they were ditcheed 
on both sides, and rows of round or sibley tents were 
placed back on either side of the street. Ten rows of 
tents each holding eighteen persons were in our 
camp. A large section was laid off for hospital 
grounds and for various other purposes. Another sec- 
tion which we called the officers' Bull Pen, the one 
in which we were placed, was vacant. Officers had 
been confined there, but were separated from the 
privates and kept in another Prison during our stay. 
Captains, Lieutenants and all high officers were 
called commissioned officers, all others from ser- 
geants down were called noncommissioned officers, 
and were left with the Privates. The prison was lo- 
cated by the Bay with several gates leading to it, 
large open works were constructed over the water 
30 or 40 feet for closets, and narrow passages were 
provided leading to them. At night all gates were 
closed. The ground was not much above the water 
level and on account of the winter tides the cook- 
houses, seven in all were built with the enclosures on 
foundations 3 or 4 feet from the ground, at the side 
farthest from the bay ten rows of tents, each row 
called a division, made a wide approach in front of 
each cookhouse. I was in the tenth division which 
was nearest the hospital ground. Several pumps af- 
forded an abundance of clear water, but it had an 
offensive odor and left a coating on tinware. A dead 
line two or three hundred yards out in the water was 
made by driving small logs in the mud with a pile 



26 

driver, their ends showing above water at low tide. 
It was very dangerous to swim beyond this dead line. 
Many had been shot and not a few killed for very 
trifling offenses. Two days out of every three we were 
guarded by a gang of ignorant and cruelsome neg- 
roes. 

Please do not think that I dislike the negroes as 
a race. Many of them are my friends, but the negroes 
who guarded us were not accustomed to having 
authority over the white people and the defenceless 
prisoners suffered at their hands. Numbers of scars 
were left on the frame work of the closets made by 
negroes firing at the prisoners. The negro guard was 
very insolent and delighted in tantalizing the prison- 
ers, for some trifle affair, we were often accused of 
disobedience and they would say, 'Xook out, white 
man, the bottom rail is on top now, so you had bet- 
ter be careful for my gun has been wanting to smoke 
at you all day!" Often their threats came true. Many 
times during the night, when they quarreled with 
some poor fellow who had displeased them, we in 
our tent hugged the ground veiy closely expecting to 
hear a bullet sing at any moment. They meddled with 
many things that did not concern them, always giv- 
ing their orders in the most insolent manner. 

A tragedy took place at the cookhouse near our 
tent one day. A negro stood near the gate leading to 
headquarters and one of our prison comrades smug- 
gled a watch into the prison which he tried to sell to 
this negro. He said to him : "Don't you want to buy 
a watch?" The negro replied, 'Tes, let me see it." 
Handing the watch to him, the negro leveled his 
gun, saying : 'If you don't get away from here I will 
shoot you." The man ran and reported to the white 
officers, a few days later the oflicers compelled him 
to return the watch. This made the negro very angry 
and on guard a few days later he saw the owner of 
the watch going into the cookhouse with a hundred 
or more prisoners marching four ranks deep, so he 
fired at the man. Missing the rank he was in, he fired 
at eveiy man in the rank next to him, two were shot 



29 

through the body, one in the arm and one in 
the hand. The two who were shot through 
the body died, the other two lived. One was Joe 
Bridge of our Regiment who was cared for in a hos- 
pital tent near us. A few of the negroes who number- 
ed more than a thousand knew their place and our 
white guards were well liked. During the summer the 
Rebels were troublesome in Virginia and many of 
those neg'roes were taken across the Potomac to 
fight. When the news came that numbers were killed 
the negro women in their tents wailed and mourned, 
after this they treated us with more respect. 

Now I will endeavor to tell you about our food 
and the manner in which it was served. We were fed 
by the contractors, who were paid a certain price for 
each man per day, so it can easily be seen there was 
room for speculation. These contractors bought 
damaged rations such as pickled pork, beef, etc., 
from the government at a low price and they gave 
us barely enough to keep soul and body together. 
The food was a little more satisfactory at Point Look- 
out than at Elmira, New York. It was prepared in the 
different cookhouses and placed on long tables ready 
to be carried to the quarters. The meals were served 
twice a day, at 8 o'clock a. m., and at 3 p. m. A piece 
of light bread and a little beef or pork, salt or fresh 
whichever was convenient was served in the morn- 
ing and evening, bread and soup in messpans. The 
bread for either meal weighed when baked 3 ounces, 
the pork weighed about 2 ounces and the beef three 
ounces, it was often bone and very little meat. Hun- 
ger necessitated our eating this tainted food as we 
had nothing else and the odor was very offensive. 
The pickled beef was often tainted also, our soup 
was made either of potatoes, beans, onions or a com- 
pound of cabbage, carrots, and other green garden 
vegetables cooked and pressed into large squares 
for convenient handling. If the soup was made of po- 
tatoes, beans and onions, the potatoes were not peel- 
ed and the onions were not sorted and frequently 
they were spoiled, when the blocks of pressed vege- 



30 

tables were thrown in after the meat being cooked it 
was good, but the quantity allotted to each only 
sharpened our appetites. Bathing in the bay was a 
source of pleasure granted us and we certainly took 
advantage of it. It was thick with bathers every day 
and it was a great relief to stand on the beach and 
watch the ships and small craft pass, some with a 
line and net waded in the water waist deep and 
caught the big crabs. I sometimes went to the bottom 
where the water was ten feet deep and found a few 
oysters to eat, but they were poor and tough in the 
summer time. When the tide was coming in the 
water was delightful, at the dead line we sat on the 
post until the waves were highest, then we rode them 
to the shore. We enjoyed the bathing until the middle 
of July, when curious looking things called ''Sea Net- 
tles" appeared, they must have had animal life in 
them for they grew from the size of a penny to that 
of a breakfast plate, and they looked somewhat like 
clear jelly, the edge resembled a white scalloped 
squash, the center being like that of a shallow bowl, 
appendages nearly two feet long were on the edges 
and on the extremity of these were small spots cluster 
ed together. It was amusing to watch the bathers 
swim under one of these, the sting resembling that of 
a nettle. They are said to be of the jelly fish family. 
Many times I attempted to examine them, but upon 
being lifted out of the water they separate into tiny 
particles. After a windy night the beach at the edge 
of the water was slimy where the queer things had 
been left by the receding tide. 

We had a memorable Fourth of July of which I 
must speak. In the rear of the hospital tents there 
were several rough wooden buildings which were 
used as a kind of headquarters for the sergeants and 
in these buildings all things sent to the prisoners 
were stored. One of our prisoners, a big jolly fellow, 
by the name of Wells, was in charge of the things re- 
ceived including clothing, cakes, cookies and various 
other nice things and many times the prisoners died 
before receiving them. This 4th of July, while the 



31 

men of war vessels in the Bay and the Yankees were 
celebrating the Fourth, a young comrade by the 
name of Munt said quietly to me, "Be still about it 
but come with me this afternoon and we will have a 
4th of July treat." We went and fifty or sixty others 
detected our plan, we fell in line in front of the build- 
ing where Wells was stationed and as we passed he 
gave each of us a handful of good cakes. After Munt 
and myself had received our treat he said, ''King, 
lets go back behind and come up and get another 
treat." I said, "I am afraid Wells will recognize us." 
Munt insisted and we went. When we appeared 
Wells looked at us sharply, seized us and took us in- 
to the house. He said, "I will punish you later." We 
were somewhat frightened, but said nothing and lat- 
er he came with a large wooden bucket nearly filled 
with apples and two bottles, but we did not know 
what the bottles contained then he roared 
out in a terrible voice : "If you two do not eat every 
apple in that bucket, I will compel you to drink the 
contents of these bottles and it will kill you sure." 
We began eating the apples which were not very at- 
tractive but were mellow. We ate and ate and Wells 
looked at us ocasionally with a terrible expression on 
his face. Showing the bottles he would say: "Eat 
them or die." The floor in the room had large open- 
ings in it, so we ate a small piece of an apple while 
Wells was not looking and then dropped the rest 
of the apple through the floor. A Yankee guard came 
in and assisted us in disposing of a few, so at last we 
finished our task, then with a savage look he present- 
ed the bottle, saying: "I am going to kill you any- 
how." He roared out, "Drink it, I tell you." The 
guard smiling looked at us. This gave us courage to 
drink it and it was a bottle of fine pop. He gave an- 
other fellow, who had done the flanking like we did, 
a suit of clothes, so that was our 4th of July celebra- 
tion and it is one that I will never forget. 

Near the middle of July officers came through 
the prison taking the names of all who would apply 
for the oath of allegiance to the United States, prom- 



32 

ising that those who would apply would be released. 
Well, about 300 made application, but I am happy 
to say that your humble servant was not included. A 
short time after this the 300 marched through the 
big gate rejoicing. They taunted us because we were 
left behind, but I will tell you more of the 300 later. 
On the 27th of July we boarded a little steamer call- 
ed "Favorite" which took us out in the mouth of the 
Potomac. There we were put on the big ocean steam- 
er ''Continental." Sometime during the night we 
went through Hampton Roads into the old Atlantic 
and turned our faces towards New York. We had not 
been on the ocean long until one after another be- 
came sick and we numbered thousands. The ship 
had three decks above the hold. Sitting on the lower 
deck dangling my feet down in the hatch way where 
it was very hot, I was sweating furiously when they 
lowered over me a large canvass ventilator. I pulled 
off my cap, opened my shirt bosom and enjoyed the 
cool air, but contracted a cold that night which came 
very near costing me my life; strange to say I had 
taken cold on the measles when about fourteen 
which effected one lung and left me with a rather 
weak squeaky voice. Now this cold I caught on the 
salt water gave me a strong course voice and splen- 
did lungs which I still have. We reached New York 
harbor and lay at anchor in the mouth of the Hudson 
River, for nearly half a day from our big trip. We 
had a good view of the city where all was hurry and 
bustle, then in the evening we started on the Erie 
R. R. for Elmira which is 300 miles from Jersey City. 
The next evening we arrived at Elmira prison, and 
were assigned respective places. Here the prison was 
laid off in wards instead of divisions like Point Look- 
out, and our squads were in Ward 39. The first to 
meet us were the grinning 300, who had marched to 
freedom through the big gate at Point Lookout. We 
certainly did laugh at them; they were there safe 
and secure with no more freedom then the rest of us. 
It was all right to take the oath of allegiance to the 
United States as we did after we had no Southern 



33 

Confederacy. The Yankees in general had no re- 
spect for a turncoat and those who took the oath were 
always spoken of with contempt. I am proud to say 
that I never even thought of taking an oath of that 
kind until Lee had surrendered and the war was end- 
ed. Then it was necessaiy to take the oath to get 
home. 

The prison at Elmira consisted of thirty-six ac- 
res enclosed by a wall constructed in the same way 
as Point Lookout Prison. It was located a short dis- 
tance from the Chemung River in Chemung County, 
New York. The river made a bend in front of the pri- 
son, but everything indicated that perhaps a hun- 
dred or more years before the prison was there the 
river had run straight, and later a beaver dam had 
changed its course. In our pen there was a body of 
water within banks very much like a river which oc- 
casionally became high. The North side of this body 
of water had a much higher bank than the South 
side. Next to the river it became stagnated in the 
warm season and was not healthful. Elmira was lo- 
cated on the west and near the prison ; there were hills 
on the east which kept our minds on the beautiful 
and majesty of nature. The Elmira prison looked 
much cleaner and healthier than Point Lookout, and 
the water was good. It was a pleasant summer pri- 
son for the southern soldiers, but an excellent place 
for them to find their graves in the winter. The plan 
was different from the prison at Point Lookout. All 
our quarters were built on the north side of the wat- 
er, it being higher than the south side which was 
a blue grass sod and used for small pox hospitals. 

We arrived on Aug. 1st, crossing the water by 
means of bridges. Our camp was situated in the north 
east quarter of the pen. The regular prison hospital 
was in the northeast quarter, the big entrance gate on 
the north side. Baking and cooking was done in a 
large cookhouse near the water. The mside head- 
quarters were near the entrance of the big gate, a 
cross street leading to the cookhouse; all other of 
the streets ran east and west. They were ditched and 



34 

thrown up in the center. The hospital grounds con- 
tained frame buildings of medium size, tents and 
smaller buildings for carpenter shops where coffins 
were made and other houses for the use of the ser- 
geants, and those who were compelled to be in the 
prison for various purposes. An undesirable building 
was erected in the middle of the camp for a guard. 
We lived in low tents for the first three months, 
there being no houses and we often suffered with 
cold. The manager arranged the building of the hous- 
es two months after our arrival and they were com- 
pleted near Christmas. They were 100 feet long by 
25 feet wide ; material rough lumber, sawed blocks 
were set on end and on these sills and lower joists 
were placed, then a double floor of rough planks 
was made sided up with ten foot siding, they were 
stripped roughly and a few binders used, the roof 
was very flat made by sheeting the rafters with plank 
this was prepared and covered with pitch gravel. 
There was no ceiling over head, a large door was ar- 
ranged at each end and two windows in the sides, 
three rows of bunks, one above the other, were built 
on the sides of the building, they were 6x4 feet with 
bottom made of rough plank and six inch boards 
were railed on the outside, to prevent our rolling out, 
shavings or bedding of any kind was not permitted 
as the authorities said they produced vermin, but it 
mattered little to us for we were already well suppli- 
ed. Two ventilators were placed in each roof which 
provided for two stoves. At first we had wooden 
stoves, but they were not satisfactory and were re- 
placed by Burnside Coal stoves. The management 
was somewhat like that at Point Lookout. The head 
man inside was a major called Provost Marshall, two 
captains, assistant Provost Marshall, Lieutenants and 
Sergeants, assisted him. Our first Provost Marshall 
was Major Colt, his assistants were Captain Mungery 
and C.iptain Peck, they were good men and treated 
us Vv'ell,but those officers had nothing to do with feed- 
ing, clothing and housing us. This was done by con- 
tractors, whose ambition was to make money, they 



35 

were cruel and caused much suffering. In the tent one ' 
night three of us, myself and two boys froni Ala- 
bama, Burd Messer and Jerry Dingier were sitting on 
our blankets talking, and suddenly some one in front 
called out sharply, "Halt" two shots followed tearing 
through our tent just above my head. The three of us 
threw ourselves on our backs instantly, and the next 
morning revealed that the man who fired the shots 
was an over bearing Lieutenant whom we disliked. 
At another time Jerry Paugh, one of our companions 
discovered that some of the boys in our ward planned 
to escape. Our row of tents was the nearest to the wall 
and these fellows dug a hole in the bottom of the tent 
extending to the outside of the prison, a distance of 
25 or 30 feet, by means of haversacks they emptied 
the dirt in the water without being detected. When 
all was in readiness a few whistles served as a signal 
for those who desired to exit. Five escaped, two of 
these later were caught. Others would have ventured 
the following night, had not the officers been inform- 
ed. 

Our rations were better after we arrived at El- 
mira, but they soon decreased. We entered the cook- 
house by wards, being 42 in all. Soup was placed on 
long tables in mess pans. Bread and meat was served 
in the morning, bread and soup in the evening. Mar- 
ching to the tables two ranks deep, the head of one 
column stopped at the first place, then the column 
separated half of them going on each side of the tab- 
le, each man stopping at the next place and so on 
down the line. By the time the last man reached his 
place the first one was leaving, each man was oblig- 
ed to furnish a vessel in which to carry his soup it 
being hot and we were given no time to let it cool. 
Those who could not cany it with them did without 
soup. Many kinds of vessels were used some had can- 
teens with the neck broken off, others had old tin 
cans, coffee pots, tin buckets or often a very small 
wooden bucket which a prisoner by the name of Mor- 
gan made to sell and frequently some shiftless fellow 
had nothing so punished himself trying to swallow 



36 

the hot soup. In winter on very cold mornings what 
a sight we were starting to the cook house for our 
food ; Each ward had a head man called a war ser- 
seant, he went to the cook house morning and even- 
ing to learn when to bring his ward, usually about 
200 or 240 men. After securing the information he 
called out, 'Tall in 39 and get your rations." We 
went in a trot, canteens, buckets, tin cans, coffee pots, 
rattling, old rags and strings and long unkept hair, 
dirt and grey backs, cheek bones projecting for 
there was very little of us except skin and bones. Our 
legs were spindling and weak. Here we went over 
the frozen ground and in crossing ditches some poor 
fellow frequently fell. We were obliged to leave him 
struggling to gain his position as our time was limit- 
ed. This is only a few of the facts. It has often been 
said that the northern people treated and fed their 
prisoners well. I wish it were true, but during my im- 
prisonment which was more than a year, I never saw 
any of the good treatment, except from the old veter- 
ans, the men who had been to the front and had seen 
service in the army were kind. 

Tainted meat appeared more frequently and our 
pieces of bread was perceptibly smaller. The size and 
weight of our rations, as told heretofore is exactly 
correct, for many times I measured my piece of bread 
both in width and thickness. It was very uniform in 
size, exactly as thick as the distance from the end of 
middle fmger to the first joint inside and just as wide 
both ways as the length of a table knife blade, this 
being 5i/j inches wide and V/j inches thick. Our 
meat ration was very little smaller and often we 
could see through the soup to the bottom of the pan. 
At times the officers discovered some dirt or misbe- 
havior near one of our wards, then all the ward was 
given small rations as a ininishment for what one or 
two had done. We called these morsels of bread de- 
tailed rations because men, who were put on detail 
at cleaning streets or something of the kind, were 
give small pieces of bread and this was all they had 
to eat while working. While they were being punish- 



37 

ed we nearly starved. In the later part of the winter 
crackers were used in place of soft bread, we enjoy- 
ed them but for some reason they were not health- 
ful, causing a stubborn diarrhoea and many deaths 
resulted. I was in the hospital myself a month with 
the disease. Weakness and starvation had caused me 
to lose my sight, consequently often times when 
wandering some distance from our ward spots ap- 
peared before my eyes and I was dependent upon 
some kind comrade to lead me home. The blindness 
left me as I grew stronger. Others suffered the same 
way. Many times a poor fellow staggered along un- 
til his old shaky legs failed to support him, then he 
staggered until he was on his feet again with a ghast- 
ly smile trying to bear it bravely. It was touching to 
see the poor, ragged gaunt, half famished, much 
abused, noble fellows trying to be cheerful through it 
all. Dear old comrades in misery, how often do I rem- 
ember you and our friendship. Had all been con- 
ducted as well as the government of the prisons, we 
-could have had no cause to complain. The best 
treatment came from the citizens, those at home and 
the contractors. In addition to the other officers 
there were ward sergeants, who were our prisoners. 
One of their duties was to examine all letters coming 
to or going from the prison ; also every cent of mon- 
ey sent to the prisoners was credited in a big book, 
and should we find by reading our letters that money 
had been sent we secured a written order for every- 
thing we intended to buy. We never saw any money 
but there was a Sutler store inside the pen where we 
made our purchases. First, we ascertained how much 
was to our credit by examining the big book, then a 
clerk filled out an order blank something like this: 
"This was the Stutler's name." Demorest, let J. R. 
King have 15 cts in apples, 10 cts cabbage, 20c on- 
ions, 10 cts flour, and so on. After receiving the ar- 
ticles we balanced the account to see how much was 
left to our credit. We had but little money and prices 
were high ; flour five cents per pound, meal the same, 
onions 15 cents a pound, cabbage 10 cents, small ap- 



38 

pies one cent each, tobacco 15 cents for a small thin 
plug, and the man charged to suit himself. Money 
letters were cried in a public place and it was neces- 
sary to answer several questions before it was con- 
sidered safe to deliver the letter. The people at home 
never knew how we suffered in prison. If we attemp- 
ted to tell it in our letters, the Censor saw that they 
were not mailed. The assistant Provost Marshalls, 
Captain Hunger and Captain Peck, and several un- 
der officers looked after the inside of the prison. 
They were responsible for the sanitary condition and 
the management of the hospitals, cookhouse, the 
wards, the dead house, hurrying the dead and other 
things. The ward sergeant's duties were to conduct 
his men to their meals, call the roll, give reports to 
headquarters concerning his ward, make out requi- 
sitions for clothing, coal, etc. There were nearly 1,- 
000 prisoners at Elmira one time ; sometimes less 
and sometimes more. During the winter those who 
came from the South felt the cold exceedingly and 
died from pneumonia. Our clothes were poor. The 
pants I had when arriving at Elmira were in such a 
bad condition that for a long time I wore nothing 
but my underwear. However, when the cold weather 
appeared I was glad to welcome old pants again and 
after much patching they were a great comfort. In the 
late winter, out-of-date government coats were pre- 
sented to us for overcoats : for some reason unknown 
to us the tails had been cut unevenly,one side being a 
foot long and others extending only a few inches 
below the waist line. They helped to keep us warm, 
but should we have been out in the world in such cos- 
tume, one might have mistaken us for scarecrows 
eloping from the neighboring cornfield. Oilcloth and 
two blankets was the covering in our bunks, with a 
big snow outside and the bitter wind raging around 
the plank building and whistling in at the cracks. We 
didn't dream of comforts and many of us had very 
poor shoes. Mine were ready to be cast aside and I 
did not get a new pair until the last day of February. 
While in the house I wrapped my feet in old rags 



39 

which kept them warm, but in the late winter we 
were compelled to stand in the snow eveiy morning 
for roll call, consequently my feet and shins were 
badly frozen. In the spring they had the appearance 
of a gobbler's legs and it was many years after I re- 
turned home before they were entirely cured. Many 
besides myself had frozen feet. The man who looked 
after the fires made only two fires in 24 hours. Each 
ward had two stoves. The first fire was made at 8 
o'clock in the morning, the other at 8 P. M. Near noon 
and midnight we were comfortable, but during the 
twelve hours between fires when the temperature of 
the stoves lowered we often suffered with the cold. 
A dead line nailed to the floor three feet in circilm- 
ference surrounded the stoves. Of course we could 
not cross the dead lines and often a petty officer en- 
tering on a cold evening found some of the ragged 
shivering men standing too near the fast cooling 
stove, would become enraged and would run curs- 
ing, striking right and left through the crowd, little 
caring who received the blows or what he did. One 
day a poor fellow was standing near the stove with 
an old blanket thrown about his shoulders, held at 
the throat by an enormous safety pin made from a 
piece of large wire. The long sharp point of a pin ex- 
tended through the hook which held it in place. The 
man of authority struck a swinging blow at the poor 
fellow when his hand came in contact with the point 
of that big pin which tore his fingers unmercifully. 
But it cured him of his fighting propensities. Pun- 
ishment often resulted from trifling offences and of 
course we dared not defend ourselves. Some of the 
men in our ward were powerful men. One was a very 
tail sergeant who lived in Elmira. His duties kept 
him inside the prison continually and we called him 
Long Tom. It gives me pleasure to speak of him for he 
had a kind heart and was a favorite of every one. He 
was called our coal sergeant, often when the weather 
was intensely cold and our fires were low upon re- 
quest our big friend would get us coal if possible. 
Much sickness prevailed among the prisoners. In the 



40 

latter part of the winter many came from nearMobile 
Bay and brought with them small pox. There were 
more than forty cases in our ward, and many died. 
When seven years of age I was vaccinated and al- 
though surrounded with it I escaped, there were also 
many cases of pneumonia, measles and thousands of 
us were afflicted with the stubborn diarrhoea. The 
poor fellows died rapidly, despondent, homesick, 
hungiy and wretched, I have stood day after day 
watching the wagons carry the dead outside to be 
buried and each day for several weeks 16 dead men 
were taken through the gate. While the prison was 
occupied by us which was about one year it was esti- 
mated that 3000 men died. The physicians were very 
good but it was impossible to save all. At one time 
scurvy was among us. There were not many deaths, 
but it caused much suffering. I was among the vic- 
tims. It frequently attacked the mouth and gums, 
become so spongy and sore that portions could be 
removed with the fingers. Others were afflicted in 
their limbs, the flesh became spotted and the pains 
were almost unbearable. The remedy was raw vege- 
tables and a medicine called chalk mixture. Our dead 
were buried outside by a detail of 16 or 17 prisoners. 
The name of the company and Regiment of the dead 
were written on a piece of paper and put in a tightly 
corked bottle and burried with the corpse, all were 
buried in that way. Their caskets were made in the 
pen by prisoners detailed for that purpose. During 
the early spring the 40th, 41st and 42nd wards were 
converted into hospitals. We all decided beds made 
of shavings would be a luxury, so every fellow that 
was able procured a sharp knife and a pine board 
and I doubt if the world ever saw such a universal 
whitling in so short a time. All tried to possess a com- 
fortable bed, but in a few days the Provost Marshall 
inspected our quarters and ordered every shaving 
burned. They advocating that the shavings would 
breed veimin, but we had already been made very 
uncomfortable by their presence. Near the cook- 
house there were vessels for heating water, but few 



41 

of us could get soap and consequently the few clothes 
we had never were washed. The prisoners passed the 
time making trinkets. Capt. Munger and Capt. Peck, 
secured the material and after the articles were com- 
pleted they sold them in the city for the best price 
possible, always remitting the money. In passing 
through the prison one would see a boisterous lot 
playing cards or some other game, numbers making 
rings out of Gutta-percha buttons and riveting sets 
on to them of real silver which the captains had pur- 
chased, others were making pretty trinkets out of 
bone, such as tooth picks and seals for watch chains, 
with birds, squirrels and other figures designed on 
them. Some made watch chains out of horsehair with 
single links, with two links interlocked and others 
with three links interlocked making a round chain. 
This was done with horsehairs and two common 
needles. We took a board 18 inches long and 4 or 5 
inches wide, near one end a small hole was made into 
which a flat post a foot in length with a little pole 
near the top was placed, in that hole was a little 
round tapered stick running almost to a point. The 
stick was as large around as we desired the links of 
the chain inside, after taking the coarse hair from 
the horses' tails, we placed a small board on a chair 
and sat on it with the post between our knees, the lit- 
tle stick pointing to us, threaded the needles on both 
ends of the horse hairs, then make the little links 
around the stick, slide the needles each way under 
the link across the hair, and worked the bottom hole 
stitch around the center of the link, and then inter- 
locked as many links as we wanted. With little prac- 
tice very prety chains could be made. Others in our 
pen made fans out of white pine wood, the board was 
cut in the shape of a paddle with a fancy handle, 
then the part which formed the paddle was notched 
and cut into thin slices with a very sharp knife. The 
wood was softened with warm water and then the 
slices bended like a fan, different colored ribbons 
were worked through the notches and the ends tied 
in a bow around the handle. They were very pretty, 



42 

but frail. One man made a small parasol on the same 
plan. I saw Capt. Peck, carrying it around one day. 
I suppose he found a purchaser for it. Another man 
made a rude engine. One day I gave him a cracker to 
see it iTin, that was the admittance. Many wore green 
shades over their eyes on account of the blazing sun 
on the sand, tents and water, some of the managers 
sowed patches of oats which was restful to the eyes. 

I will tell you something of the many punish- 
ments inflicted on the soldiers; one was wearing the 
barrel shirt, the big pork barrel with wooden hoops 
was used, one end was out, a round hole was cut in 
the other end large enough for a man's head to pass 
through. The barrel was put over the body by two 
men leaving the head sticking out through the hole in 
the end. This he would have to wear two hours be- 
fore noon and two hours afternoon with a guard be- 
hind to keep him in action. Then crosses were nailed 
on the sides of the barrel on which the man's offense 
was painted in big black letters. Sometimes it was a 
lie; othertimes theft, so here promenaded the man, 
the barrel, the crosses and the guard ; one cross said : 
''I am a liar." Another said : "I am a thief." This con- 
tinued day after day. Capt. Whiton, the boss of the 
cookhouse, had a fat dog which was very friendly 
and one day was missing. So the Captain found upon 
investigation that two hungry fellows had killed 
his dog. Enraged with anger he had the two men ta- 
ken to headquarters, barrel shirt put on them and 
dog eater painted on the cross. The prisoners ate 
every rat they could find and it is well for the rat 
I didn't find any. They smelt very good while fiying. 
Sometimes men were bucked and gagged or tied up 
by the thumb for punishment, which was the most 
cruel of all punishments. I would not punish a dog 
in that way. 

Some enterprising fellow built a large frame 
work outside near the big gate and not more than 
fifty feet from the wall. The building had three 
floors besides the ground floor and was called the ob- 
servatoiy. There was no roof and it was built for the 



43 

sole purpose of observation. One on the upper floor 
had a fine view of our prison and prices were regu- 
lated according to the floor on which they 
stood. The building was forty feet in height. When 
the weather was pleasant a great many went to the 
top to look at us. On a beautiful late spring day there 
was a number of nicely dressed ladies and gentlemen 
on the top floor. Our provost marshall was sitting on 
the floor below when presently there came a big ne- 
gro among the ladies. He shoved them aside and 
squared himself to get a good look at us. He was 
finely dressed and apparently thought himself a very 
important character. We did not like his attitude so 
a number of the men groaned at him, hissed, hooted 
making all sorts of expressions about his impudence 
but he stood reared back and paid little attention to 
them. Then the Major got up immediately, went up 
stairs, took the negro by the shoulders, drew his 
sword, turned him around and marched him down 
and out. The negro wanted to argue with the Major 
but it was useless. Of course we gave the Major a big 
cheer which seemed to please him. I never saw but 
one negro guard while at Elmira. He was a fine look- 
ing negro who stood guard sometimes in our pen. He 
behaved like a gentleman. 

After warm weather came we had many visi- 
tors, often ladies. Some of them spoke pleasantly 
and were well behaved, while others were impudent 
and insulting. I remember one day Colonel Moore's 
son came in our pen with a few young girls, (Colonel 
Moore was commander of the post), his son was a 
foppish young fellow and one of the girls overdress- 
ed and attracted him. While passing through our 
ward, with her dainty fingers she tipped up her rust- 
ling silken skirts and passed along with an effected 
air and a disdainful look on her countenance, saying, 
"Oh, the nasty, dirty, ignorant, beastly Rebels, how 
filthy they are," and on she continued with a pecu- 
liar air, while some of the girls gave us kindly words 
and looks and were embarassed by her rudeness ; but 
she was punished for being so unlady like. One of 



44 

our number, Bish Fletcher, a daredevil, took the op- 
portunity as the girl passed by him to present her 
with some body lice, 'Grey Backs", we called them. 
Two sisters of charity visited the prison leaving each 
a religious tract published by the American Tract 
Society, and as they passed they treated us with a 
smile and a kind word. They were real ladies. 

I do not want to leave the impression that every 
prisoner was sick, poor, ragged and weak like the 
majority of us, for there were many who escaped 
sickness and numbers who were kept at detail work. 
Those who worked were fed much better, but of 
course the majority of us had to work. We had a ray 
of sunshine occasionally; in the latter part of the 
winter my good sister, Elizabeth, and my kind par- 
ents sent me a box containing biscuits, butter, a 
piece of bacon, dried apples and a cake. It was all 
veiy nice, but unfortunately just before the box ar- 
rived I was sick and had no appetite. I ate very lit- 
tle of the contents of my box which was a curiosity 
to the prisoners. When it came they gathered in a 
great circle about my bunk and Mr. Breen, a rich 
iron merchant from Georgia, made a speech to the 
crowd regarding my dear sister's hands which had 
prepared it and how my dear parents had remember- 
ed their boy in the far away prison. Jaco L. Hale, a 
large robust man, a Virginian, and one of the ''Gray 
Devils", a company belonging to one of the regi- 
ments in the Stonewall Brigade, used the bunk un- 
der mine. He was kind to me and was always hungry. 
I said to Mr. Hale : "Don't you want some butter and 
bread?" "Yes, sirree," the big fellow answered, and 
it did me good to watch him sit on the edge of my 
bunk and eat biscuits and butter. He was a big bony 
man and a biscuit soon disappeared between those 
massive jaws. I gave him much of my precious box. 
He was always my powerful protector and was the 
last man to whom I spoke in the prison before leav- 
ing. Dear old fellow, he had a wife and children at 
home and was ever the protector of the weak. Pris- 
oners whose homes were within the Yankee lines 



45 

could receive money at different times and I always 
got credit in the big book at the headquarters. Every- 
thing was so high at the Sutler store we could not get 
much but it helped to keep the wolf from the door. 
Some of the prisoners bought and made much for 
sale so for five cents one could be satisfied for a 
while. A market place was located near one end of 
the cookhouse where the prisoners congregated on 
certain days and tried to sell numberless things to 
one and another. They sold rings, watch charms and 
many other trinkts made by the prisoners and besid- 
es these men would cry their articles on the market. 
Some tried to sell eatables. We called a piece of the 
loaf, cut off the crust end, a "Keno-ration", by reas- 
on of a game of chance some of the men played call- 
ed "Keno". In the game when a certain number was 
called out the lucky one would cry out: ''Keno-o-o". 
So at the cookhouse when one got a heel ration he 
called in a loud voice: ''Keno-oo.". In the market 
some would cry : "Here is your keno ration with five 
chews of tobacco on it for five cents." Still another, 
"Here's your two rations of meat and ten chews of 
tobacco on it all for ten cents," and so on. It was a 
strange medley of things in progress that could nev- 
er have been seen elsewhere, but little buying was 
done. Many traded rations. Money was to scarce with 
which to make purchases. Hunger often caused peo- 
ple to do desperate things. I myself often watched for 
the bones, after the meat had been eaten off. I got up 
many times in my bunk with a bone and after knaw- 
ing the soft ends, sucked at the bone for hours at a 
time. I wasn't the only one. No bones went to waste 
as long as there was any substance left on them. One 
morning while we were eating our beef ration, Dan 
Singleton, who occupied one of the top bunks, cried 
out while holding a small rib in his hand, " Look here 
boys, here's a fine piece of mule meat." The ribs we 
were eating were all alike, being round and smaller 
than the ribs of cattle ; the cow's ribs are flat as ev- 
ery one knows. The meat was good and we could 
have relished several more mules had the opportun- 



46 

ity been presented. A few of the under officers were 
quartered in a little house on a steep bank of a creek. 
They cooked and ate in front of the house, and here 
the cook emptied his dishwater which sometimes con- 
tained a little meat and bread and I often saw two 
men on either side of the greasy place scrambling for 
the crumbs as the dishwater rushed down the bank. 
It was pitiful. Many men, once strong, would cry for 
something to eat. I know from experience. A few 
more of us could have worked in the carpenter shop 
had we agreed to take the oath of allegiance to the 
United States, but we refused. Our wages would 
have been 5 and 10 cents per day according to our 
capabilities; this didn't tempt me. A day or two af- 
ter the lamentable death of our President, Abraham 
Lincoln, the inside officers approached us with a pa- 
per telling us that all who would say they were sorry 
for the President's death would be released first. Not 
many said they were sorry and those who did stayed 
there as long as anybody else. I did not say I was sor- 
ry and when I came out I left thousands in ; yet of 
course the whole nation was grieved over his death, 
but we did not care to express our sorrow in that way. 
However, it was sad to hear the bells tolling in the 
city when the news came that the President was 
dead. When Gen. McClellan and Abraham Lincoln 
ran for president, the majority of the prisoners fav- 
ored McClellan. They cheered for Little Mac, and 
one fellow drew the picture of Abraham Lincoln 
mauling rails and McClellan marching to the White 
House. Little Mac was very popular in New York. 

Then a flood came in the Chemung, or Gioga 
River as some called it. There had been much snow 
during the winter and early in March the thaw caus- 
ed high water. The snow melted rapidly and soon the 
little Chemung was raging. The water came into our 
prison higher and higher, and in a short time the 
small pox hospital across the creek had to be aban- 
doned. The water increased and in a few hours it 
reached nearly every house in the prison. The lower 
bunks were submerged and the second row wa»j 



47 

threatened. We were surrounded by a wilderness of 
water. A great part of the prison wall was gone and 
we could see about half of the cookhouse extending 
above the water. In every direction men could be 
seen hustling around in boats trying to save things. 
The hospitals were flooded and all the sick had to be 
taken into the city. The dead house was on a little 
higher ground therefore the dead were not washed 
away. We were confined in the higher bunks for a 
day or two with nothing to eat or drink but the dirty 
river water. After the water receeded men came into 
our wards through the doors in row boats, passing 
near where we were ^'roosting". They gave us some- 
thing to eat. My, but it tasted good ! In transferring 
the sick from the hospitals to the boat, often they fell 
into the cold water. A poor fellow came out of the 
hospital next to our ward. He tried to walk a short 
plank which had been placed from the hospital to 
the boat, carrying his blanket and some old ragged 
clothes which belonged to him. Trembling and tot- 
tering with weakness, as he stepped on the plank, the 
boat vacillated and the poor fellow staggered, threw 
up his arms and went headlong into the water. I fear- 
ed he would drown, but he was rescued and shivver- 
ing was taken away in the boat. I have no doubt it 
caused the man's death. As soon as we could with 
safety we waded out to the highest pump in the pri- 
son, which was near the deadhouse, to get some wa- 
ter. On my way to the pump I noticed several old 
blankets near my feet. Looking closer I discovered 
a number of dead men concealed under them. The 
high water had prevented the people from taking 
them to the graveyard. The walls were rebuilt and 
in a week or so our old prison was in its natural con- 
dition. After the overflow I noticed several extreme- 
ly large ells lying dead in the water. One day while 
the cleaning was in progress a petty officer of some 
sort had four or five men under him working at a 
crossing. Just as the little platform or little crossing 
had been nearly placed I happened along and this 
petty officer was bossing, puffing and swearing at 



48 

the men. He issued a mighty order to the prison that 
no man should cross the platform until it was comple- 
ted. Ignoring the order I crossed and as I was landing 
on the other side this great man caught me by the 
shoulders, shoved me roughly towards a Yankee 
guard who happened to be near and said: "Here, 
take this man to the guard house and put a barrel 
shirt on him." The guard asked no questions but con- 
ducted me to the guard house and in the afternoon 
I was wearing the barrel shirt. The Yankee guard at 
headquarters said in a low voice to me "If I were you 
I would saw wood for the cookhouse and you will not 
have to wear the barrel longer." Next morning I told 
them that I wanted to saw wood, so the old measly 
pork barrel and I parted company forever. I sawed 
wood a few hours every day for nearly a week. Maj- 
or Beall came to the guard house to take the place of 
Major Colts as Provost Marshall. When I was 
brought before him he said: "What are you here 
for?" I said: "For nothing at all." He turned to the 
jailor and said : "What are the charges against this 
man?" The jailor after looking at his book said : "No 
charges." Looking at him sternly the Major said: 
"Let this man out. What is he here for?" I made my 
departure never to return. 

As the spring passed the number in our wards de- 
creased. At roll call there was no answer to nearly a 
third of the names. Many had died but early in the 
spring about 300 of the sick had been sent south to be 
exchanged. I think the government had intended to 
send the most of us back to Dixie in the spring had 
the war not closed, but when Gen. Lee surrendered 
we then knew that those who lived would return to 
Dixie. There was great rejoicing and ringing bells at 
Elmira when the news came that Lee had surrender- 
ed. After that we received better treatment from the 
Yankees and were not guarded so closely. Of course 
we felt badly when we heard that our beloved Gen. 
Lee had surrendered, for we knew our noble Army of 
Northern Virginia would hereafter be only a memory. 
I am proud to say that I once belonged to the Army of 



49 

Northern Virginia and marched and fought under 
the illustrious Robert E. Lee, who, when he had to 
go down, went down bravely. We started out for 
what we thought was right and stayed with it faith- 
fully to the bitter end, 

I want to speak of some of the characters in our 
prison who were very interesting. One fellow whom 
we called Shocky,seemed to have a mysterious influ- 
ence over the Yankees. He was always well dressed 
and apparently loyal to the South, but it was always a 
mystery to us how he could go over the wall at a cer- 
tain place at anytime he desired and always be re- 
spected by the guards. We thought it possible that 
some free masonry was connected with it. Five of the 
young Virginians also seemed to be more favored 
than the rest of us. Among them was Bill McGruder, 
Bill Hale and a Georgian called Nick Carnochan ; the 
latter pronounced his name Conahan. These young 
fellows enjoyed many privileges denied the others. 
Then there was ''Old Buttons", a man who sewed 
buttons on promiscously to show every battle or skir- 
mish in which he had been. I saw the old fellow die 
while he and I were in the hospital. We had "Old 
Blue Ridge" too, a man of gigantic size who wore a 
home-made blue coat trimmed in various places with 
fringes, who with all his eccentricties was very kind. 
Old Pickett, the Florida fisherman, watched from 
morning till night for the chews of tobacco others 
had thrown away. He threw them into his mouth as 
though his life depended upon it. There were many 
remarkable men with us, of whom I would like to 
speak but time will not permit. As the summer drew 
near we all became restless and were longing for 
home. Parnell from South Carolina had been em- 
ployed around headquarters as a messenger boy. As 
I sat in my bunk despondent and hungry one evening 
early in June, Parnell appeared, saying in a low 
voice : "King, you are going out on the next load. I 
heard your name called today at headquarters. Be 
still and do not tell anybody but get ready." I asked 
who else was going from our ward. He said only 



50 

four: myself, Hoy Reger, Andrew Winster Reger, 
who was one of my own company in Dixie, and him- 
self. Elated over the news I commenced to get ready. 
My pants were ragged and dirty. I had an old U. S. 
blanket and ten cents in money. I went to Bill Goans, 
who was handy with the needle, and asked him if he 
would make me a pair of pants out of the blanket. He 
wanted 25 cents for the job, but I told him I had but 
10 cents in the world and that I was to start home on 
the next load. He hesitated, then said : ''All right. I 
will do it, as you are going home." They were better 
than the ones I wore but I believe Wanamaker 
would have made a better fit. All our comrades were 
soon informed that we were going home and we did 
not try to keep it a secret. As soon as Mr. Hale, a 
friend of mine, knew we were going he said: ''Come 
and sit down. I want to give you a shave before you 
leave. He fixed me up the best he could. Then in a 
day or two we were taken out, measured and our 
complexion taken down on paper. The next morning 
300 of us were taken to the cookhouse and while stan- 
ding together with our right hands raised the oath of 
allegiance to the U. S. was administered. Then we 
were given two days rations, our paroles handed to 
us and we were ready for the journey. I will never for- 
get the march from the cookhouse to the big gate. 
All the prisoners who were left behind congregated 
near the street as we went out. No battle scarred vet- 
erans ever marched to victory prouder than that rag- 
ged, poorly fed, miserable 300 which passed through 
the big gate never to return. Many of the poor fel- 
lows left behind waved us farewells, for but few 
ever met again. The last familiar face I remember as 
I went out was that of Mr. Hale, my best friend. He 
waved his hand and said: "Goodbye, King" This 
was the tenderest goodbye for me of all. As I write 
today the memories of that ])rison, our suffering, 
many old comrades I knew well, all rush to my mem- 
ory so vividly that I seem to live it all over again. It 
brings a sadness to my heart that I can hardly shake 
off at times. 



51 

We waited in the city until afternoon before tak- 
ing the train for Baltimore and while there I sold an 
old blanket I had left for 40 cents and that was all 
the money with which I had to buy anything to eat 
on the journey. My two days rations I drew before 
leaving the prison were so small that I ate all before 
I passed through the gate, so after getting 40 cents 
for the blanket I spent 20 cents of it for bread and 
cheese and ate the most of that before taking the 
train. The U. S. government gave us free transporta- 
tion home as far as we could travel by rail or water. 
In the evening we started for Baltimore on the Penn- 
sylvania North Central R. R. We went through Wil- 
liamsport, Sunburg, Harrisburg and several other 
towns and passed long trains of Yankee soldiers go- 
ing to New York to be discharged. They cheered us 
as they passed and our train stopped outside of Bal- 
timore for a few minutes. Above us were some wom- 
en in a garden which had fine onions in it and upon 
asking for some a negro girl threw us a few. They 
were what we called clove onions and were fearfully 
hot. We ate one or two of them and kept the others. 
In Baltimore while waiting at the Band Depot all 
day before getting through to WestVirginia,! was sit- 
ting in the Camden Street station eating one of my 
hot onions when I noticed some ladies looking at me. 
I thought probably they were admiring the fit of my 
new pants, but later one said kindly: 'Toor fellow, 
he looks pitiful." Then I discovered that they thought 
I was crying and were sympathizing with me. I con- 
cluded I would eat more onions, as it was comforting 
for some one to look at me kindly. I ate my supper 
that evening at the Soldier's home near the station 
and I can assure you that I did not leave that table 
hungry. We took the train in the evening for Graf- 
ton, W. Va., and reached there the next day. I spent 
that night with my Uncle, my Father's brother, John 
M. King. The next day I went to Clarksburg and 
from Clarksburg home. I walked 36 miles that night, 
Hoy Reger and myself. Being timid to approach the 
house, we slept in a pasture field. The next day we 



52 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



001 034 616 2 



went by way of Buckhannon and parted at the 
mouth of Turkey Run. I crossed the river at Hyer's 
Mill and arrived home in the evening, finding all a- 
live and well. I will not try to tell about our happy 
reunion. There will never be another so happy un- 
til we shall meet up there where God will never let 
us part. 

Brother Cyrus is sitting in front of me as I 
write. I have a beautiful home, children and grand- 
children who are tall big men. In a few weeks I will 
be seventy-four and am hale and hearty and I thank 
our good master for it all. 

In conclusion I will say the war is over. We 
have peace and prosperity. The North and South are 
united, but the South is our South. I love it. My 
heart is with the South and nobler women never liv- 
ed than our women of the South and there never 
was in any country nobler women banded together 
than the Daughters of the Confederacy for the work 
which they have undertaken. Dear Children of the 
South, U. D. C.'s, may the kind hand that led me 
through battles and prisons safely lead everyone 
securely through the battle of life to a happy old 
age. To you all I send a greeting. This imperfect 
sketch was written near Roanoke, W. Va., Feb. 23, 
1916. 

John R. King 



